ON a warm Monday morning in the lush Buninyong Botanical Gardens, Lorraine Powell sits on a bench and explains her motivation behind working to protect and improve spaces like the one she currently finds herself in.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a place where everybody meets,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is a common ground for all of us. These public open spaces, if you don\u2019t have people advocating for them, and particularly with botanical gardens, they will quickly revert to just being ordinary parks.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese aren\u2019t ordinary parks, they embody the cultural, the historical, the scientific aspects of our community.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s that dedication to public spaces and culture that\u2019s behind her being awarded a Medal in the Order of Australia.<\/p>\n
Not that as an individual honour the award seems to sit well with her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not a very remarkable person, so I was a bit gobsmacked,\u201d Ms Powell said. \u201cI\u2019ve not done anything by myself, it\u2019s always been with lots of other people who are in a common world doing something that is all of ours.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf an award is given to me, it can be given to dozens of people, because I can see inspiration all around the place.\u201d<\/p>\n
She is honestly humble about the achievement, but some might say it\u2019s well deserved as over the years Ms Powell has made significant contributions to Buninyong and the wider Ballarat region.<\/p>\n
Along with holding office with the Friends of Buninyong Botanic Gardens, the Friends of Ballarat Botanic Gardens, Keep Ballarat Beautiful, and the Victorian branch of Australian Garden History Society, she\u2019s also volunteer guide at the Art Gallery of Ballarat, works with Buninyong Film Festival, a volunteer and judge for Tidy Towns Victoria, and a volunteer at the Ballarat International Foto Biennale.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s an extensive list that reflects Ms Powell\u2019s willingness to give her time and effort.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got a choice in life, don\u2019t you?\u201d she asked rhetorically. \u201cYou can either sleep in a community, or you can live in it, and if you live in a community you sort of have to do stuff.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of people out there doing things I could never do. So I guess you do what you can do.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ON a warm Monday morning in the lush Buninyong Botanical Gardens, Lorraine Powell sits on a bench and explains her motivation behind working to protect and improve spaces like the one she currently finds herself in. \u201cThis is a place where everybody meets,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is a common ground for all of us. These […]<\/p>\n